Let There Be Light

I love the changing landscape as we move from state to state. That’s the beauty of traveling in an RV rather than flying to a destination. It’s the journey not the destination that’s so much fun for me! We traveled from Racine, WI to Baileys Harbor, WI and stopped along the way to visit a lighthouse; one of my favorite things to explore when traveling. Because Door County’s Peninsula has 300 miles of shoreline with much of it rocky, there was a need for lighthouses along the bay waters of the peninsula and surrounding islands. The Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse is one of many Wisconsin lighthouses and an iconic part of the Lake Michigan coast and this was our first lighthouse to visit!

We met up with friends from Florida (who live in Minnesota) and they have been our travel guides for the Wisconsin/Minnesota part of our journey. We met in Sheboygan, WI and drove our caravan north to the lighthouse above for our first stop. The journey along back roads to view the landscape and farms along the route was beautiful. So different from the landscape of Chicago we had passed just a day before. Here is the landscape along the route yesterday.

The stop at the lighthouse was interesting as we learned more about the history of the lighthouse. In 1886, a storm hit Lake Michigan and a ship which was being towed developed leaks and was separated from her towline. Near Kewaunee, the barge struck a rock and sunk. Four of the seven on board made it to shore. There were other barges anchored off shore and one of them started leaking badly and her anchor was cut loose from the tow and she drifted toward shore and hit bottom. Five of her crew members downed and citizens from the town watched helplessly from shore but weren’t able to do anything. They recognized the need for a lighthouse and a life-saving station to help vessels in trouble. Below is a picture of the life-saving station.

U.S. Life-Saving Station in Kewaunee located across the channel from the lighthouse. It was built in 1893 and its mission was to rescue and administer aid to shipwrecked mariners and passengers.

The Tug Ludington was built in 1943 in New York and it participated in the D-Day Invasion at Normandy, France in WWII when it towed ammunition barges across the English Channel. In 1947, it was stationed in Kewaunee where it assisted in the construction and refurbishing of many structures along the shores of the Great Lakes.

We then drove to our campground at Baileys Harbor which will be our home for the next few nights. We were able to find one more lighthouse before ending the day and this one was the Cana Island Light Station. This lighthouses is off County Q at the North edge of Baileys Harbor on Cana Island Road. It was established in 1869 and was automated in 1944. It’s now a museum managed by the Preservation Society. This is Door County’s most photographed lighthouse and it’s accessible by a small sand bar. We went in the evening when the lighthouse was closed but got a good evening photograph of the lighthouse which is also under construction.

Our last activity of the day was to take the Red Trolly Tour at Egg Harbor which gave us an overlook into the area, especially Peninsula State Park where we will hike, ride bikes, golf, and explore the park. The trolly took us through the park to show us views of Green Bay from the cliffs and the forest line along the floor of the park. Enjoy the last photos of the trolly ride through the park. Until tomorrow…